Non-Chemical Copper mesh for cell

[nivrnb]

I just broke the news to her, like this "It might stink a little". Tommorow I will post pics of the power supply and cables.

nivrnb

 

[rewalston]

ill start on this batch tonight it will take two cells and most of the night to complete it all.View attachment 2View attachment 1

nice mountain you have there Geo. Cell looks good too.

Rusty

 

[jmdlcar]

ill start on this batch tonight it will take two cells and most of the night to complete it all.View attachment 2View attachment 1

How many grams were in those 5 bags? And how grams do you think your get?

Jack

 

[Geo]

those bags each contain 2 US pounds so there should be 10 pounds of pins. the bag on the top has some connectors ive never seen before so im not sure. ive been getting an ounce of gold from 6 pounds of these type pins so ounce and a half maybe ounce and three quarters would be nice.

 

[nivrnb]

Geo,

That is a lot of pins, and your cell is very impressive. I looks like you thought outside the box. Round cell just trying to be funny. What you have in pins, It took me very long to acquire a smilar pile. That is why I am in no hurry, I don't want to mess it up. I don't believe I will come accross this many pins again. So I am thinking if all goes well, start buying the plated jewlery and see how that goes. I hope all goes well tonight.

nivrnb

 

[Geo]

i was fortunate to know a man that owned a company years ago that made test equipment for the military. well the company went under in the early 90s and he stored all this old equipment at his home and a rented storage. i told him that i wanted to start some refining as i had about 500 pounds of computer boards and have tried over the years to harvest the gold without success. then one day while searching the net came across lazersteves website and thought "gee, that's simple enough for me to do" and followed a link to this forum. my friend said that if i split the gold with him i could scrap all the old equipment. i've been hauling and stripping components for three and a half months now.this stuff is unbelievably rich in gold and silver. and i still have all the computer boards i had originally and have been adding to it along the way as i can.

 

[nivrnb]

Just completed the anode, I think I may need to do this again. Just posting pics. I am getting off of my own subject of the copper mesh and am now going into the cell, I hope people don't mind. Please feel free to criticue, I have think skin. 8) I may have made the cathode to thick, from what I see of others.

nivrnb

 

[nivrnb]

Photos con't.

 

[nivrnb]

Photos Con't

Got the new Pyrex from Walmat. A little smaller than the original. Have to bend the anode tommorow pending comments. I folded the copper mesh in half, I hope that doesn't cause the amps to be high.

nivrnb

 

[nivrnb]

Power supply.

 

[Geo]

that cathode doesnt need to be free standing that way, it needs to be secured in some way because it could fall over during operation and cause a splash of hot sulfuric acid.

 

[nivrnb]

Geo,

Thanks, yes I am going to bend it today.

nivrnb

 

[Amber]

This is a really good thread. Please keep posting your process as I am at about the same level now. I've gotten a few questions answered, like having two (or more) copper baskets so you can rinse and let it dry while you start another basket.

Regarding the cathode - I'd like to share that I discovered a flat piece of lead in a friends shop. He explained that it was used to shim flashing into the mortar joints of a chimney before re-pointing the mortar. (Now most roofers just caulk it) I think this might be a great way to make the cathode, you just cut the shape you want and bend. I was rummaging around his scrap metal pile to find some kind of mold to make a cathode similar to lasersteve's. When I described what I was doing he handed me that! I'll bet you can still find it in real hardware stores.

Here's a photo

 

[nivrnb]

Amber,

That is a great idea with the lead, please post your progress also. Interested on how your lead cathode works. I need to go back and correct my earlier posts. One of the questions I have about the cathode is that it has to be free of corrosion. So does this mean after the cathode is made, or after it goes into the acid, should I start preventing corrosion according to lazersteve? The first one I made was not even thru out, so I am in the process of making another one.

Also from reading the posts, a smaller cell reacts the same way as a lager one, one of the benefits is that it uses less acid. A bigger cell can handle more material during a session. Philddreamer pointed out to me that a silver cell is constructed differently.

 

[nivrnb]

These photos are for a smaller cell that I will constructy first to get a sense of the smell, the time it takes to process.

 

[Geo]

you would use a copper cathode for a silver stripping cell. some types of material you would run in this type of cell are in the photos here that includes silver plated pins, flatware,jewelry and large peices of silver plated electronics. a thumb cell is used to refine the silver into fine silver crystals, i dont have photos of my cell and its out in the shop, ill post some later.

 

[qst42know]

Molten lead can be cast in wood a few times. The technique could save you some time constructing aluminum forms. You can get several copies before the wood is destroyed. It does smoke quite a bit though.

 

[Amber]

Thanks nivrnb for the invite to your thread.

Last night I read about making a basket and found some great tips and even a folding template. I borrowed an idea to take some copper wire to reinforce the basket. I also cut out the lead sheet to make the cathode. I am posting pictures and hoping for some input. I can add more wire to this basket. I think some kind of handle would help to lift and move it to a rinse tank. I can also trim the cathode if the amount of material is overkill for a small cell.

Let me know what you all think.

 

[Geo]

if you wear gloves you will not need a handle to remove the basket, just dont put your fingers in the rinse water if you have sulfuric acid on your gloves as it will heat up quickly. the cathode should be ok as is. if you run large amounts of pins at a time 1/4 pound or more it will pull more amps but you need a cathode with as much area facing the anode as you have anode area facing the cathode, if that makes any sense to you. :lol: watch your amps and if it goes over 10 amps it will cause your acid to heat quickly at 12 volts. you can use 6 volts to avoid the quick heat up but it will take longer to process.

 

[philddreamer]

nivrnb wrote:
" Philddreamer pointed out to me that a silver cell is constructed differently."
For silver crystals, yes. For de-plating, as I understand, is similar to the gold one. I haven't used the sulphuric cell for de-plating silver... yet! :mrgreen:

I like Amber's lead strip for making the cathodes. That would simplify making one.